UK202090 minEnglish, Urdu with English SubtitlesToronto PremiereDrama
On the brink of his first international tour, Zed, a British Pakistani rapper, decides to fly home to the U.K. to reconnect with his family, only to find out his first big international break could be jeopardized by an unexpected and quickly debilitating autoimmune disease. As his condition worsens and his medical treatments intensify, Zed descends into a physical and emotional crisis. His days are marked by vivid hallucinations and long-buried childhood memories of his parents fleeing India during the Partition, forcing him to face resurfaced trauma.
A film co-written, produced by and starring Emmy Award-winning actor Riz Ahmed, Mogul Mowgli is a disquieting and electrifying exploration of identity, self-expression and intergenerational trauma. Bassam Tariq’s directorial lead and Ahmed’s transfixing performance create a gutsy, beat-packed drama authored by bi-cultural artists powerfully expressing their right to thrive in all spaces, especially those that have been built to reject them.
– Mariam Zaidi
Riz Ahmed
Alyy Khan
Sudha Bhuchar
Nabhaan Rizwan
Anjana Vasan
Aiysha Hart
Hussain Manawer
Kiran
Sonia Sawar
Jeff Mirza
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Berlin International Film Festival, 2020
Bassam Tariq
Bassam Tariq is a writer and director currently based between Texas and London. His previous film, Ghosts of Sugar Land (2019) won the Short Film Jury Award at Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for a Short Documentary Oscar.
A right-wing government controls Quebec, closing its borders and pushing immigrants to leave. Widower Hiên lives a meager life running a dépanneur. Enticed by his daughter Phuong’s move to Vietnam, Hiên makes arrangements to leave everything behind. But when a neighbourhood boy is left under the temporary care of Phuong’s aimless Quebecois boyfriend, Hiên is driven to solve the mystery of the boy’s missing mother.
Catch Sahar Te's KHAAREJ No. 3 this year at the festival, featuring a mixed media sound and text digital installation, and an artist talk.
This panel considers how digital tools have been mobilized through varying methods to adapt, respond and address changing socio-cultural contexts, and engage with communities. This event is part of the Reel Ideas Symposium.